Anthony Mandler's worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna and Jay Z during his 13 years as a music video director, and now he'll add an erstwhile boy wizard to his star-powered roster.

The auteur's next film project is the thriller "Tokyo Vice," which starring former "Harry Potter" lead Daniel Radcliffe. When MTV News caught up with Mandler at Sunday's Video Music Awards — he directed VMA-nominated videos "Carry On" (Fun.), "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Taylor Swift) and "Come & Get It" (Selena Gomez) — the helmer explained more about the project and Radcliffe's role.

"It's called 'Tokyo Vice.' It's written by Jake Adelstein," Mandler said. "It takes place in Tokyo. It's about an American that becomes a reporter at the Tokyo Times, and he breaks an incredible story about the Yakuza and about the reality of what it means to do that in regards to his safety and his life and whether it's actually worth it to bring the world that truth. It's very much like a '70s kind of thriller. So far it's been incredible. We're writing the script now. We're looking to start next year."

Radcliffe's been tackling increasingly mature roles in films like "Kill Your Darlings," "Horns" and "The F Word" since graduating from Hogwarts in 2011, and Mandler said "Tokyo Vice" is the next logical step in this progression.

"I think he's absolutely ready to go to the next level," Mandler said. "We sat down a couple of times and had some incredible meetings. His take on the work and on the book is right in line with mine, and I think it's all about the next phase after Mr. Potter."